Page 25 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2020

PLANET cont’d from page 24
Since 2018 the Republic of Ireland has disinvested all public monies from fossil fuels, the first country to do so. They join over 1110 institutions and 58,000 individuals committed
to black-listing coal, oil, and gas. As of September, 350.org reports more than $11 trillion are committed to divestment—up from $52 billion in 2014, an increase of 22,000 percent.
Divesting’s helpful in “keeping it in the ground,” but it’s not enough. In 2018, energy consumption nationally hit a record high, largely due to the growing use of fossil fuels, which provided 80% of total energy use. Natural gas and oil use rose 4%, while renewable energy was up only 3%.
Fridays for Future continues—Join the 3-day strike for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day coming in April!
By David Adams Leadership Learns About Petaluma Nonprofits
On Tuesday the 10th the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce Leadership class had its annual “Nonprofit Day”. David Adams owner of Quality Printing Services and graduate of Leadership class 2019 this year’s nonprofit day chair brought together a wide mix of the nonprofits in Petaluma from a variety
The class also toured the disaster warehouse where emergency food, cots, water, and bedding is stored to roll out in evacuation scenarios as it was in the fires of October.
of categories to share the rich diversity of services and organizations that Petaluma is blessed with. From Fraternal organizations, service groups and social services, the class gained an understanding of all the ways that those
in need can obtain a hand up in Petaluma. The day started with a tour of the Masonic Lodge on Western and Petaluma Blvd. Took a walk down the Blvd for a tour of the ODD Fellows Hall. “Fraternal groups fly under the radar as far as their contribution to the community,” Adams said. Both organizations not only offer aid, assistance, and support to their members but have scholarships for kids going off to college and support brick and mortar nonprofits like Mentor ME, COTS, and the Salvation Army. Class member Jay Monahan said, “ I now understand the difference between a fraternal and social organization”.
A panel comprised of nonprofit organizations was then held in the Salvation Army Youth center community room. Organizations that participated were
the Petaluma 20/30 club, Petaluma 7-11 Lions, Petaluma Peoples Services, Kiwanis Club, Village Network, Rebuilding Petaluma, Petaluma Rotary Clubs, Keeping Music in the Schools, Aqus Community Foundation and Petaluma Valley Baptist Church. Each organization gave a presentation on how they help the community.
Next, the class moved onto Mentor Me and heard about the great work
they do in the schools of our community helping to give kids that extra-added support in growing up that is so valuable. Next, they visited COTS and learned about the housing issues facing the community and how COTS partners with other organizations to supply needed services and housing to the community. They stayed and had lunch in the COTS cafeteria. The food at COTS was very well prepared and the class was greeted by a smile from the volunteers that served in the cafeteria. Darby Ciampi mentioned, “I had no idea that COTS had permanent housing.”.
Afterward, the class had a Q & A to learn more details about how the nonprofits in town work together to help in the community, how they could become involved as well as the challenges the organizations all face for membership and fundraising. The combined programs, grants, and resources that these groups provided the community are too many to list here. The easiest way to convey the help they provide the community is to say that it is in the millions of dollars annually. Class member Christina Arndt,” I knew of all of the organizations on the panel, but was unaware of everything they did”.
After lunch, the class went over to the Petaluma Salvation Army for a tour and learned about how the SA is feeding over 300 families a week with their food pantry program. The class was shown the SATURN station (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network) a short wave network that is able to keep communities connected in times of disaster and cell phone outages.
The Elks hosted the class to refreshments and finger food and provided them with a room to work on their 2020 class project to benefit the community.
Then the class went off to their last tour of the day at the Petaluma Elks lodge. Learning about member benefits like the members-only RV park, as well as the tens of thousands of dollars the Elks give the community made up of kids programs, scholarships, and aid to veterans. Class member Charlie Castillo, “ The Masons and Elks were a surprise. I knew the Salvation Army was obvious about the help they give, but I had no idea how generous the Elks were’.
I think you see a theme here. Petaluma “cares”. We care about each other, our surrounding communities and are not hesitant about stepping up and volunteering through so many opportunities that Petaluma has to offer.
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